Keencut - Ultimat Futura

A mount cutter for picture framing. Short of the computerised CNC options this is the best you can get..
I had a Keencut Laser mount cutter before which holds the same basic architecture of a lifting horisontal, a vertical square and a sliding cutter that cuts the bevel.

The differences are all the little niggles with the laser have been addressed and this just works faultlessly every time!.
The laser would require periodic adjustment of the vertical element to ensure it was square to the horisontal cutting beam. it would require careful calibration of the over an undercut with every blade change or change of mount board thickness. The major issue though was that the laser had a tendency to bend the blade slightly at the start of each cut and as a result the finished mount was never quite as sharp and precise as you would hope.
So, I now have this unit and I have to say it thus far has proved perfect.. the vertical arm has no adjustment, but simply hooks in place and is totally square every time. The cutting head is on bearings for an effortless smooth cut.
the blades are in a magnetic cartridge for quick and perfect blade changes without the need for recalibration. there are multiple cartridges so you can have a set for each mount board thickness.
there is a vertical cutter which my old laser never had, so I'm able to trim down the outer dimensions of the board and ensure they are perfectly square every time.
Overall I love it !! I have gone for the slightly larger 48" option which will take whole A0 boards in a single cut which makes it easier also.

Morso F Moulding Guillotine

The ultimate home picture framing setup.. it's a bit of a beast of cast iron and 3m wide.. but what a lovely tool to use. it creates perfectly square and precise mitres every time, it creates minimal waste and no dust unlike the previous setup I had of a logan mitre saw and hand guillotine.
a really great purchase that will last me forever... i just need to find a house big enough to find it a home now! :)

The North Face : Solo 12

Stability : 5/10
Ease of pitch : 7/10
Comfort : 4/10
Ventilation : 3/10
Packed size : 9/10
Quality : 6/10
Weight : 10/10

A 3/4 man ;) single skin tent... basically a luxury bivy, but it's remarkably good in severe weather now its got a few extra guying points sown in place.
I've tried bivy bags and just don't manage to sleep in them for the thought a bear is going to come in the night and eat my face.. but inside a tent I'm fine :)
Ventilation is the weakness of this tent though... it has vents at the bottom ends and at the top, the issue is that once you put a sleeping mat and bag in the tent the lower vents are effectively blocked so its not ideal. it would also be good if there were some option for mesh on the door so you could open it up in the summer, I might make that modification at some point.
Being single skin it also gets hot in summer and cold in winter.
It packs down really small and only weighs less than a kilo so it's a keeper but doesn't see much use.

Terra Nova : Southern Cross 1

Stability : 7/10
Ease of pitch : 7/10
Comfort : 7/10
Ventilation : 7/10
Packed size : 9/10
Quality : 7/10
Weight : 8/10

My new one man four season tent.
This was purchased to replace the Terra Nova Solar Ultra 2 below..

It's only had a single night on the hills so far, just off the summit of Corn Du in the Brecon Beacons in December. but it was a windy night and it performed great!.. easy to pitch all in one.. peg out one end first with two pegs (I'm using MSR Mini Groundhogs). Then install the red pole but leave the tent unclipped. Peg out the other end. Lie on top of the tent and make sure it's flat enough. Then install the blue pole and peg into place. Clip the outer to the red pole... guy it out and that it done.
Mine has the groundsheet also which is a great addition..

I will be adding a sierra designs grip clip to the centre of each panel to allow guying out of the panels centres also. but the tent really was very quiet even without these.

space wise, the tent is a comfortable true one man tent. my pack, cooker and boots sit in the porch whilst my mattress, sleeping bag and camera gear come in the inner with me. It is tall enough for me to sit up.

Disappointments with the tent.. only a few.
The tent is rated as four season, but comes with a part 1/3 mesh door on the inner.. it would have been nice to have the choice with a double door arrangement.
As true with all terra nova tents I've pitched, they seem to be designed for perfectly flat pitches, the peg loops just aren't long enough to accommodate uneven terrain, so i loop an extra cord through them to extend them.
The only other minor frustration is the lack of a gear loft inclusion.. there are attachment points, but no gear loft itself and given the strange shape it will probably be necessary to make one myself, surely a scrap of material with a few cords wouldn't break the budget..

Note since I have the groundsheet with this, it does make the tent almost impossible to squeeze into the original bag.. with cold wet hands it's a frustrating affair.. so I use a sea to summit compression bag.. it also gives some straps to attach to where the original bag is literally a tub so nothing to hook onto.

I was nervous buying another Terra Nova tent after my experience with the Solar Ultra, but whilst the quality isn't up with the Hilleberg, I've been really impressed with the Southern Cross it seems like a very good balance of performance, quality and cost.

Terra Nova : Solar Ultra 2

Stability : 6/10
Ease of pitch : 4/10
Comfort : 8/10
Ventilation : 6/10
Packed size : 9/10
Quality : 5/10
Weight : 10/10

A bit of a disappointment this.. I opted for this to try and reduce my pack size and weight... the design is semi freestanding with nice clean lines and decent end to end ventilation. I was always aware that the pitch inner first would be an annoyance for me but the insane light weight seemed like an acceptable trade.

Good points, the tent really is crazy lightweight. and packs down small, particularly if you split the poles and fabric. The space is really spacious for one man and lots of kit and the end porch gives a better place to cook I always think than a side porch. The door configurations allow plenty of configurations to provide shelter from changing wind direction.

The negatives.. well it's a sod to pitch. the inner goes up in seconds.. but to try and align the outer is nearly impossible even in the garden on the middle a summers day.. pitching in the wind and rain in falling light and I never managed to get a square tight pitch. The outer always felts just too small for the inner. I think the Cuban fiber fabric is the issue here, it just doesn't have any elasticity or give to it.
The other issue was one of durability. On my third ever proper pitch (i.e. not in the lounge or garden) I was up in the Scottish highlands wild camping and the outer fly tore in two places along the weld seams. I hadn't caught it on anything and was simply pegging it out in a moderate breeze. I ended up sleeping exposed in just my Crux torpedo sleeping bag for the remaining two nights.
Terra Nova did manage to effect a good repair and reinforcement on the tent for 45ukp but on a 1300ukp tent I had expected more and felt this was always a design/manufacturing issue more than reasonable wear and tear.
The other issue was the light.. with a virtually clear outer (which does look very cool) it does mean that sleeping with an eye mask is essential as the sun comes straight through in the morning.

It's now found itself a new home with a new owner who will hopefully have better luck with it than myself.

Hilleberg : Allak

My two man four season tent.

Stability : 9/10
Ease of pitch : 10/10
Comfort : 10/10
Ventilation : 9/10
Packed size : 7/10
Quality : 9/10
Weight : 7/10

Ahhh my wonderful Allak.. This really is a great tent so well thought out and functional in every way.

The good points.. this is the easiest tent to pitch in any weather.. a bit like the Southern cross in high winds I tent to peg out two points into the wind to stop the tent flying away. I then lay on top of the tent and confirm the pitch is reasonably flat. Then I extend all the poles (each pole is identical and can be interchanged with really helps in the dark or foul weather!) and lay them roughly across the tent. then I install the two poles from the pegged locations to opposite ends. the poles fit into short reinforced sleeves at either end. once these poles are in I peg out the other end of the tent so I have four pegs in place and have squared the tent up. I then install the final pole and peg that out. The tent is then clipped onto the poles working from the bottom upwards. then guyed out with the guy lines wrapping around the poles themselves.

Note - apparently the red pole positions should be the upper pole.. I can't say I've ever paid any attention but I will try this next time and see it results in a tighter pitch.. but its certainly tolerant to ignoring this aspect.

the tent itself has two entrances and two porches. the inner is plenty big enough for two persons and kit. It has multiple pockets and great doors on either side that allow solid or vented. the solid is on the inside so you can open for airflow without letting midges in!

Ventilation wise this tent really is exceptional. it has a proper venting system on the roof which is covered by a shield to prevent rainfall entering. you can open the outer doors from top or bottom to increase airflow but I've never found the need.

This is the red label product in the Hilleberg range, the Staika being the heavy duty black label brother.. so it's a bit lighter but still 4 season and capable of a decent amount of snow loading.
If you really want you can double pole the tent out also although I'm not sure how to do the clips in this instance..

In terms of negatives I really can't think of any other than once again even at this price point you have to buy a gear loft separately which is ridiculous.

I do use an Alpkit dry bag with this instead of the original bag.. the original bag was ok, not too tight but the alpkit dry bag is so much more versatile and durable it'll protect the tent better.

VauDe : Mark V Snow

Stability : 9/10
Ease of pitch : 8/10
Comfort : 9/10
Ventilation : 8/10
Packed size : 5/10
Quality : 7/10
Weight : 6/10

My expedition basecamp tent! it's a monster... 3 person, 5 Season i.e. designed for really severe conditions. The poles on this are 14mm! and the internal vestibule has an 8" deep bathtub floor to protect from the elements.

As with my other tents, the key feature is the double skin tent with an external frame. This allows the tent to be put up in one without the tent interior being exposed to the elements.
Other features are fantastic venting, almost vertical sides so you don't rub your face against the walls while you sleep. A built in gear loft (included with the tent, take note Hilleberg and Terra Nova!), lots of pockets and a flyscreen on the outside of the door. This means you can open the door for a bit of extra ventilation without letting the mosquitoes in... Brilliant!
Ventilation is pretty good with a variety of vents, but not quite in the same league as the Hilleberg.

The negative is that this is a bit of a beast to carry.. pack is really quite large and weighty.. but it does make for a very comfortable home.

the other downside is that the bungee clip system whilst being simple and very effective (very quite in extreme winds). does tend to catch on clips as you are pitching the tent so you can get in a bit of a tangle. It also hurts like hell if the bungee flicks back on your cold fingers!

vaudemarksnowtent

Thermarest Neoair X-Therm regular

my uber air mattress.. this is an essential bit of camping gear!!
It's quite thick about 3" so it's really comfy, it's grippy so it doesn't slide all around the tent.. and its warm! really warm... the Xtherm has layers of reflective foil inside to return your body heat and prevent it soaking into the ground, it works remarkably well and you can really feel it when you lay on it.

I did consider and trial the Exped Down Mat too, whilst the exped is a bit thicker i found the X Therm a little more comfortable and the cascade design warrantee is faultless.

Marmot Helium Membrain

My spring and autumn bag, could be used in summer but would be really hot!

It's an unusual little bag this.. it's quite roomy with a wide cut and doesn't have a neck baffle so its not terribly efficient... but... it's got really high quality fill of 850 rating, box wall construction and it's waterproof too.

It packs down to virtually nothing and is really light.

I did have a Rab Neutrino 600 endurance before this, whilst the Rab was a more efficient unit in terms of maximum warmth for a given weight (this is a bit lighter).. this does feel better made, it lofts really well and quickly and if I do get caught out and its colder than expected the extra roominess allows me to wear a down gillet or jacket inside to bulk it up.

the zip is just a regular zip but the membrain material is reinforced along the length and doesn't catch in the zip too often.

the addition of a neck baffle would be really nice though.. might find a friendly seamstress :)

Rab Expedition 1000

Yup it's a monster of a sleeping bag! way too warm for most of my trips, but given the bulk of a sleeping bag is primarily from the outer and the zips etc, the additional fill really doesn't add too much to the overall weight or packsize.

This bag is designed for full on expeditions so its again quite roomy.. with enough volume for a big fella wearing clothes and boots if needed. I'm obviously loosing efficiency in having this extra space.. but the upside for me is that I can have the zip open and roll over without an arm or leg being exposed to the air.

Like a lot of the new Rab bags it has targeted fill zones, more fill around the neck and head, chest and feet, but less on the midsection and legs. This is great and quite noticeable as I tend to get prickly legs if i get too hot as I sometimes do in the Crux.

Downsides... the zip does tend to catch if you aren't careful, the material on either side is quite thin and drapey so gets snagged easily. I've never had any damage but its probably only a matter of time.

Crux Torpedo 900

Another beast of a sleeping bag... this one is my goto winter bag... it's made from event material so its waterproof and breathable, its got lots of high quality down an lovely thick baffles on the zip and neck.

The zip is a water resistant affair, which does reduce the draft massively when combined with the zip baffle.

The fit of this is much tighter and the medium size I have fits me perfectly at 5'10" and 65kg
Although the rating on this isn't as high as the Rab expedition 1000 it does feel a lot warmer to me... probably just down to the fit for myself.

The quality here is exceptional though, it feels bombproof and the zip has never once snagged.

The North Face Tent Mules

I've tried quite a few different down slippers and boots but these are the best I reckon... they are the ideal compromise between warmth, comfort, weight and durability.

They are comfy enough to wear all day, they are warm enough without cooking your feet.. they are durable enough to wear for a midnight bathroom break but soft enough to leave on in your sleeping bag if needed for a bit of extra warmth.

Extremities Super Windy Took hat and Marmot wind/waterproof gloves

These are great bits of kit... it was really difficult to find a pair of gloves warm enough for winter use, thin enough for operating a camera and ideally water resistant.. these have done the job amazingly well. the insulation isn't extreme and after a long wait I will probably have my hands in my jacket pockets to keep warm, but whilst setting up, shooting and pitching tents etc these are great.

The hat is super warm too and a great option for those like me who are allergic to wool !

MSR : Windburner Pro 1ltr

A great little cooker.. works with a radiant burner rather than a conduction flame. This combined with the screening makes for a very wind tolerant setup. its also remarkably efficient.

The canister stand is a bit rubbish to be honest, I'll probably get the metal MSR accessory version.

I perhaps should have opted for the larger 1.8ltr version for the improved stability and packing with a 230ml canister, the 1ltr will only take the small canisters which are a bit expensive.

Equipment0001

MSR : Windburner pro skillet

A pretty good little addition to the cooker.. a good size I'm a creature of habit so my usual winter mountain meal is chorizo, onion and uncle bens spicy mexican rice. This skillet is just the right size for that.

The only issues are that it doesn't actually lock onto the burner and doesn't incorporate any heat exchanger to better distribute the heat so it does tend to burn the middle of the pan and leave the outer cold. the other niggle is that the folding handle is going to scratch the non stick coating when folded, it could have been made with a silicone coating maybe.

Equipment0002

Katadyn Pocket water filter

My heavy duty water filter.. after using a couple of others (Katadyn vario and MSR) with issues of breakage or leakage, i opted for this proven unit...

the downside it is quite heavy.. but then its removing the need to carry so much water on a trip as you can drink from any stream or lake.

it works well with a reasonably quick action and flow rate. I have modified the outlet to provide a quick connect to a camelback tube so I don't have to pull my camelback out of my backpack. Although much of the time I just use a nalgene water bottle these days.

Oakley Range Photochromic sunglasses

My outdoor sunglasses.. they are huge ! but the distortion is minimal, clarity excellent..

the downside of the large lens is they do fog up on occasion if the wind drops.

These are non polarising reactive lenses.. so they darken with UV light. being non polarising is great for digital photography as I often use circular polarisers on my lenses and polarising glasses would result in weird effects through the viewfinder!

Terra Nova Quasar 45

My ultra light backpack, suitable for single night winter wild camp trips.

Its not the most comfortable with only a basic harness system, but it does the job and weighs virtually nothing.. I think I would recommend the Osprey Exos 46 instead though as for just a touch more weight you get a much better harness system to carry the load.

Seems pretty durable though